Pothas excited and raring to go at Lankan opportunity
Aravinda sights mainly on grassroots level as Pothas (on right) is welcomed to the coaching staff of Sri Lanka Cricket - Pic by Amila Gamage
The appointment of Nic Pothas, former South African and Hampshire cricketer with a sound track record, as the new fielding coach of Sri Lanka, may look an ordinary posting, but according to the legendary Aravinda de Silva, it’s all about the present-day youngsters inheriting a perfect ‘culture’. De Silva, the most stylish and sought-after batsman Sri Lanka has ever produced and a member of the 1996 World Cup winning team under Arjuna Ranatunga, stated that, his ‘gift’ to the country would be to realise his dream one day, very soon, in which, Pothas’ appointment comes as a vital addition. ”It’s very pleasing to see our boys showing great character to win two Tests back-to-back against Australia. I have a dream. The dream is to perform in this same perfect way against Australia there, on fast tracks and win matches.
If I knew what I know now back then as a player, I would have scored 25,000 Test runs and claimed over 1,000 wickets easily,” de Silva told reporters on the day of Pothas’ official appointment in Colombo. As de Silva stated, what the he expects as Cricket Committee Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) from Pothas is totally different from the role of an ordinary fielding coach. Pothas who is an enthusiastic worker, according to de Silva, has the perfect work ethic which could create a healthy atmosphere all around. ”It’s a learning curve, and these kids need to know these things at a young age. The era of coming out of a school and within five years, maximum, play for the country and then continue for the remaining 20 years there, is now gone out of the window. That time has passed.
The era is different and youngsters need to know the importance of the game in all aspects,” de Silva explained on the importance of nurturing the grassroots level. Pothas officially replaces the slot created by Ruwan Kalpage, who joined the Bangladesh coaching staff in June, 2014 as fielding coach, but his role in Sri Lanka will be far from what the usual job description mentions. His tenure began on August 8, but Pothas is spending some time as an observer, while the Sri Lanka team is hosting Australia until early September. But his real workload will be looking at and looking after the feeders to the national team. ”I think, at the moment, I would serve it as a period of observation. So, I’ll have to spend time during the Test and ODI series, just to observe where exactly we are at the moment.
I certainly wouldn’t want to fall in and jerk things by changing things around right now. That will be my first protocol,” Pothas told the Sunday Times. Among Pothas’ work-list will be to scout for talent from around the country, which makes him a paid traveller, educating coaches at district and provincial levels and focusing on the youth, their development and ‘A’ squads, which in order are the feeders to the main side. Pothas feels he is within the most healthiest of environments in world cricket, to be among known faces such as Graham Ford, Simon Willis, Michael Maine and Chaminda Vaas, who will join Sri Lanka officially within this month as a fast-bowling consultant. ”I think, it’s what we have always seen in the Sri Lanka outfit. The skill level is so high, which is very exciting.
When you start adding a little bit of technique, from a fielding point of view, I have got to know that these boys have the willingness to learn, which is very much overwhelming. I have played and worked a bit with Graham (Ford) and there’s always a healthy atmosphere around with a friendly set up. I certainly don’t think there’s much of an issue at this level and, at that level, it’s a management issue,” Pothas said. Pothas said he intends to plan the sketches of his mission during the period of observation, where he would start putting progammes and schedules accordingly, focusing on changing the lineup ‘down the pathway’. ”The most important thing will be to educate coaches down the pathway. How it is going to work, I’m not sure at the moment.
But I’m sure with others in the set-up and Simon Willis, we can start working things positively,” explaining the importance and influence of good fielding. ”Focus will be the most important area at the time, be it the national team or the ‘A’ team or the development squad, whatever it might be. Everyone is a different project altogether, but once we hit the grassroots level, it will be all about educating the educator, all the coaches around the country, it’s about educating them.” ”I have an idea of putting a CD together with skills, techniques and other important things on it and hand it over to them (coaches), so we have that resource and all the information. Certainly I will be travelling around the country, which is very exciting. I almost could become a tourist again, and I will get to see places of this beautiful country, while doing my work.
That’s very exciting for me, but it’s usually satisfying to see young players developing and learning and getting better.” Pothas was more concerned in creating the culture among youngsters, so that they will no longer need technical assistance once reaching national status. As de Silva stated, at national level, it’s all about managing professional players, which Pothas was comfortable in endorsing. ”I think more than anything it’s about attitude and the changing of the culture in fielding, to change the game as a whole, with fielding in the forefront of their minds. It’s a three-way game now, not a two-way game as it used to be.
The third skill is more of the thing that we do than the other two — batting and bowling. So, I’m really excited about changing that,” stressed Pothas, who had an initial chat with some of the players who will be featured in the ODI series against Australia. Pothas’ role in helping de Silva attain his long term vision in making Sri Lanka the most sought after cricketing sides in the world, in all forms, is a long-term process. If he manages to create the perfect base, the rest is all about adhering. Pothas’ international career for the Proteas spanned five days, where he played 3 ODIs and never reappeared. But his First Class and List ‘A’ record is impressive for Hampshire, where he turned out from 2002 to 2011, captaining the side more than once.
He has 11,338 First Class, 4,567 List ‘A’ and 689 T20 runs under his belt with averages of 41.85, 35.40 and 21.4 respectively. If he had failures as a player back then, Pothas is certain of overcoming all that in the present-day player as a Level IV certified coach. ”I think there’s always things to impart to the youngsters. My work ethics and my enthusiasm is always positive. I certainly like my work, I’m passionate about information, so I will always drill down a little bit deeper, for the advantage of our team. We’ll always try to eke out to help out the youngsters. Certainly, like Aravinda (de Silva) said, if we had the information what we have now back then, we would have been twice the players we were. Hopefully we can transform that to the players of today.”